SWD Business Briefing

Published

19th December 2016

Good morning, business owner!

We’re holding an event to share with you the results of the Scottish Wedding Census, Scottish Wedding Directory’s unique survey of our industry. There’s no other information like this for us in Scotland, and it’s packed with data about trends and spends from couples that will let you make better decisions for your business.

I’m delighted to say lots of folks are already joining us, and I hope you will too; spaces are limited, so please do reserve yours today. We’re doing a presentation of the data and panel discussion to help put it all in context, and there’s also the option to stay on, have lunch, and chat through what you’ve just heard with other folks in the industry; if you advertise with Scottish Wedding Directory, there’s a special discounted price for you.

Here’s just a tiny sample of the kind of information we have gathered; I’m saving the good stuff for the event, but I thought a taste might whet your appetite!

Of the people we surveyed, nearly a third blew their original budget, and on average this was by a whopping £2,397 – which tells you that there are opportunities to up-sell customers, to push them to spend a little bit more with value-add bolt-ons, and that perhaps you should consider some ‘stretch’ pricing that offers a more luxury and expensive option which some couples might engage with. (Indeed, 1% of those surveyed blew their budget by over £10,000!)

We asked them what turned out to be more expensive than they had budgeted. Here’s just a small sample of the things they said:

“Everything, lol. Weddings are expensive. However I think I underestimated how much a really good photographer/videographer costs, and if you want an exclusive use venue this is pricey also.”

“My dress, but it’s going to be a special day they will only happen once so hard saving will make it possible.”

“All the little bits that you forget to include.”

“Everything! Venue was slightly less than expected, flowers and cake were on budget but still high; cost of legalities were a lot more than budgeted for.

“Added in a few extra things to provide entertainment for the guests – the vintage lawn games, golf hire and pipe band that weren\'t originally budgeted for.”

“I didn\'t realise how expensive things were for weddings until I looked in to arranging the photographer. That surprised me, how expensive photographers are, but I knew I wanted beautiful photos to look back on of our day.”

“Catering! And we have to cover all the kitchen appliances, crockery and so on since the wedding’s in a barn!”“The band – they were one of the biggest expenses but worth every penny. Discos are cheap; our gypsy swing band was on theme and classy!”

“Every non local supplier was more expensive than first anticipated due to travel costs to the Highlands.”

“Instead of hiring a kilt outfit, we have to get a kilt outfit custom made out of non-wool material as the bride is severely allergic to wool, apparently.”

I hope to see you in January, and if you have any questions about the event, please do get in touch with me or someone else on the Scottish Wedding Directory team!

Christopher Phin
Head of Scottish Wedding Directory
scottishweddingdirectory.co.uk
DC Thomson, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee, DD4 8SL
01382 575658

D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.

DC Thomson & Co Ltd is a private company and is one of the leading media organisations in the United Kingdom. The company publishes newspapers, magazines, comics and books. More recently, DC Thomson has expanded into the internet and digital developments including a major focus on genealogy.

Back to news